C-803

C-803
Type	Anti-ship missile
Place of origin	China
Service history
In service	Late 1990s - present
Used by	China, Pakistan
Production history
Manufacturer	Norinco
Produced	Late 1990s - present
Specifications
Weight	~850-1200 kg
Length	~6-7 m
Diameter	0.36 m
Warhead	165 kg conventional warhead
Detonation mechanism	Semi-armour piercing
Engine	Solid-fuel rocket boost motor Turbojet engine
Propellant	Solid fuel (booster rocket) Liquid fuel (jet engine)
Operational range	>255 km (air-launched) 200 km (surface-launched)
Flight altitude	5 to 50 meters cruising
Speed	Subsonic - Mach 2
Guidance system	Infra-Red and MMW radar
Launch platform	Aircraft, ships, ground launchers

The Yingji-83 or YJ-83 (Chinese: 鹰击-83, literally "Eagle Strike"; NATO reporting name: CSS-N- ) is a Chinese anti-ship missile based on the YJ-82, designed as a supersonic successor to the subsonic YJ-82 missile. The export designation is C-803.

Development and design

The chief designer was the chief designer of YJ-85, the latest member of YJ-8 series, Mr. Huang Ruisong (黄锐松), who succeeded Mr. Liang Shoupan (梁守槃) after his retirement. Also powered by a turbojet engine, the YJ-83 has an operational range of 255+km air-launched and 150–200 km surface-launched. The very first model of the YJ-83 anti-ship missile first appeared on the National Day parade in 1999, and it was only armed with a radar seeker. Seekers of the YJ-82/C-802 upgrade are also available for YJ-83/C-803, but it is not clear if Chinese have adopted these seekers yet. The launching/storage container of the new missile retained the capability to handle earlier missiles, as well as the CY-1 ASW missile.

The YJ-83 program begun started in the beginning of 1994, rumored as an attempt to stay ahead of Taiwan, which was developing its own supersonic anti-ship missile Hsiung Feng III. To speed up the development, the original radar seeker of C-802 was retained, and this seeker had won the first place of the scientific and technological advance reward given by the Ministry of Aerospace and Aeronautics of China in 1992. For the same goal of speeding up the development, the turbojet engine of C-802 was also retained, though significant modification was needed for the new missile.

From November 1995 thru November 1996, a total of five flight tests were conducted, with three failures, including the test conducted on November 15, 1995 during which the missile immediately plunged into water as soon as it left the launcher. Failure analysis revealed that all failures were caused by the propulsion systems and many were discouraged and suggested to adopt imported Russian systems instead. The suggestion was rejected and after numerous attempts and trials, the domestic development and upgrade of the indigenous propulsion systems of the missiles were finally successfully completed. However, the project was still in limbo, because there were other problems existed.

In 1997, funding for the project was greatly reduced, resulting in only two test flights, both of which failed. Failures were caused by problems of cables, which caused the radio altimeter to provide incorrect info, resulting in test flight failure. Although the problem was solved by redesign, a new problem appeared soon after, this time in production, a quality problem. The rudder control mechanism malfunctioned during quality tests, and it was discovered that instead of using the screw as it was supposed to be, a broken drill was used instead. As a result, the production manager was removed from his post, and the project manager was removed also, to sent away to be retrained, and a new quality goal of zero defect was implemented, and everyone was reminded the quality goal on daily basis by reiterating the slogan “Zero mistake in work, zero defect in products, zero risk in test flights.” In June 1998, the test flight after the new quality policy was implemented was conducted, and was successful, and four months later, two missiles scored direct hits on the target at the maximum range in test flights. Immediately following the two success, another three tests were conducted, two of which were completely success, while the other was considered partially success. After many more test, the missile was finally accepted into service.

Work immediately progressed to improve the missile. A datalink antenna is fitted on the missile to receive midcourse targeting information from naval surveillance aircraft such as Harbin SH-5 or Y-8X Maritime Patrol Aircraft and helicopters such as Z-8 and Z-9, and this feature has become standard for the all missiles currently in production. Unlike the seekers of YJ-82/C-802 upgrades that was later adopted for YJ-3/C-803, the datalink was actually first developed for YJ-83/C-803 and then later adopted for the YJ-2/C-802 upgrade. However, it is not clear if this datalink is the one that is only compatible with the radar seeker and the dual radar and infrared guidance seeker, or the one that is compatible with all types of seekers.

Due to the supersonic speed of the terminal stage, it is nearly impossible for the missile to fly in the terrain following mode, and thus the new missile has not yet had the land attack capability against inland targets like its predecessor C-802, instead, it only has limited land attack capability against coastal targets. Despite its improvement, however, the future of YJ-83 (C-803) was uncertain, because a more advanced missile designed as YJ-12 was already being developed by China Haiying Electromechanical Technology Academy (中国海鹰机电技术研究院), and the chief designer of the new missile was none other than Mr. Huang Ruisong (黄锐松), the chief designer of YJ-83 (C-803). It is unlikely that YJ-83 (C-803) would enter service in large numbers due to the availability of more advanced missile already developed. Pakistan Navy operates these missiles in its Khalid class Agosta 90B submarines.

Specifications

• Length: 6 – 7 m
• Weight: 850 – 1200 kg
• Diameter: 0.36 m
• Range: 120 - 255+ km (depending on launch platform)
• Cruising altitude: 10 – 50 m for initial target approach phase, 5 m for final/terminal phase (~20 km from target)
• Speed:
  • Subsonic for initial target approach phase
  • Mach 1.3 for intermediary target approach phase (~30 km from target)
  • Mach 1.7 for final target approach phase (~20 km from target)
  • Mach 2 for terminal phase (~8 km from target)
• Propulsion: Solid-fuel rocket booster and turbojet engine
• Warhead: 165 kg semi-armour-piercing

See also

• Anti-ship missile

Related development

• YJ-82 (C-802)

Related lists

• List of anti-ship missiles

References

• Jane's Air Launched Weapons factsheet